Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Out Now will soon launch what it claims to be the world's largest gay market research effort, “2010 Out Now Global LGBT Market Study,” encompassing 14 countries in Latin America and Europe.

With an overall population of three quarters of a billion, these regions are home to more than 35 million lesbian and gay people. This will be the first time a market study targets gay communities across so many countries at once. The Latin American countries to be studied are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. The European research focuses on France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The study will cover many areas including income, consumer habits, education, media consumption, parenting, relationships, travel, employment, discrimination, aspirations, equality issues and more. Berlin Tourism Marketing is sponsoring the European research, while Delta Air Lines is lending support to the Latin American study. The work in Latin American is being conducted in conjunction with GNETWORK360, the region's leading LGBT networking organization.
Out Now's CEO, Ian Johnson, claims the research will break new ground. "We are seeing a lot of interest in this study due to its groundbreaking nature -- and its emphasis on understanding the tremendous diversity of LGBT people's lives all across this vast region," says Johnson. "We are pleased to help gay community groups, government offices, NGOs and companies to better understand, and meet, the needs of LGBT people."
Johnson continues, "It is so valuable to focus on the millions of LGBT people living outside of North America. This is the largest ever European gay and lesbian market study, and the first ever Latin American LGBT study. There are more than 35 million LGBT people living in these fourteen countries. This research will reveal much about their work situation, their family lives, relationships and parenting status, travel and consumer habits, people's experiences of harassment or acceptance, incomes and expenditures, buying power, retirement plans and their future aspirations."

According to Out Now's UK Consultant, Darren Cooper, the new research has generated a lot of interest from companies wanting to better understand gay and lesbian consumers. “With more and more destinations and companies looking to target LGBT consumers, the need for detailed research data has never been greater," says Cooper. "By better understanding this important market, companies will discover their competitive edge, enabling them to execute marketing strategies in far more effective ways. We are confident that Out Now's new global LGBT market study will be their key to gaining this advantage."
The research study is getting support from lesbian and gay community organizations. It runs from now until the end of May. Results will be released soon after.